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Archive for July 25th, 2012
RELEASE: With Sudden Greenland Ice Melt, Reiterating Declaration of Planetary Ecological Emergency
Posted by Water Conservation Blog on July 25th, 2012
Given dramatic Greenland ice sheet melt and historic U.S. drought's threat to global food supply, Ecological Internet renews calls for urgent measures to avoid global ecosystem collapse, achieve sustainable development, and sustain global ecosystems and the biosphere
By Ecological Internet, http://www.climateark.org/
Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org
(Madison, WI) - Nearly the entire massive ice sheet that blankets Greenland suddenly started melting this month, even its coldest places. In just a few days, the amount of thawed ice sheet surface skyrocketed from 40 percent to 97 percent. This continues the shocking heating and melting of the Arctic, which is severely impacting the Northern hemisphere's weather including contributing to America's dramatic drought and heat wave - through changes in the jet and gulf streams.
According to a NASA press release [1] which includes a stunning satellite interpretation of the melt about half of Greenland's surface ice sheet naturally melts during an average summer. But data from three independent satellites this July showed that in that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet had undergone thawing at or near the surface. In just a few days, the melting dramatically accelerated and an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface had ...
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Ice Cores Analysis Shows Warming And CO2 Are Closely Related
Posted by redOrbit: Brett Smith on July 25th, 2012
redOrbit: Scientists have always linked the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide to a rise in global temperatures, but new research by an international team of scientists connects the cause and effect more strongly than ever before.
According to their report recently published in the scientific journal Climate of the Past, the research team tested tiny bubbles of air trapped in layers of ice around Antarctica for carbon dioxide levels and found that rising levels of carbon dioxide is connected very strongly...
United States: Evergreen State in a less than green mood this election cycle
Posted by Greenwire: Jean Chemnick on July 25th, 2012
Greenwire: Washington state's political views are usually as green as its landscape, but some observers say persistent unemployment and a sluggish economy may be pushing the environment lower on Evergreen State voters' priority list during this election cycle, making them less receptive to messages about green jobs.
Seattle-based Democratic consultant Tom Hujar said the polls and focus groups he has conducted for clients have led him to believe the environment is not on Washingtonians' minds this year. ...
Withering drought choking Wisconsin
Posted by Star Tribune: Richard Meryhew on July 25th, 2012
Star Tribune: Rain finally fell on Wisconsin's bluff country this week, but for much of the corn on Keith Greshik's 900-acre farm, it was too little too late.
Stalks that should be lush, green and 10 feet tall are brown and crisp and barely as high as the bill on Greshik's cap. Fields that only a month ago held potential for substantial yields are now nearly a total loss, withered by five weeks of stifling heat and dry weather the likes of which southwestern Wisconsin hasn't seen in decades.
"This stuff...
97% of Greenland surface ice turns to slush
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 25th, 2012
New Scientist: The surface of Greenland has turned to slush. Satellite data shows that a warm spell last month melted nearly the entire surface of the nation's ice cap. The melt is unusual: normally about half of the ice sheet melts at the surface during summer, mostly at low elevations.
This year the thaw was stunningly swift and widespread, and extended high up the nation's peaks.
On 8 July, 40 per cent of the ice surface was wet; by 12 July, the fraction of wet ice had soared to 97 per cent (see image)....
‘Heat Dome’ Linked To Greenland’s Biggest Melt In 30 Years
Posted by National Public Radio: Mark Memmott on July 25th, 2012
National Public Radio: Last week there were the pictures of an iceberg twice the size of Manhattan breaking off Greenland's Petermann Glacier.
Now there are NASA images showing that in four days earlier this month, "Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations."
The space agency adds that "nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its...
Concerns raised as strange and sudden ice sheet melt reported in Greenland
Posted by Associated Press: Seith Borenstein on July 25th, 2012
Associated Press: Scientists say there has been a freak event in Greenland this month: Nearly every part of the massive ice sheet that blankets the island suddenly started melting.
Even Greenland's coldest place showed melting. Records show that last happened in 1889 and occurs about once every 150 years.
Nasa says three satellites saw what it calls unprecedented melting over four days beginning on 8 July. Most of the thick ice remains. But what was unusual was that the melting occurred over a widespread area....
Thai villagers to fight Lao Mekong dam in court
Posted by AlertNet: Thin Lei Win on July 25th, 2012
AlertNet: The inhabitants of Ban Pak Ing Tai, a leafy village in Thailand's far north nestled between the mighty Mekong River and one of its tributaries, know only too well what dams can do.
This used to be a fishing village but nowadays local men are more likely to be found toiling away in corn fields or working as labourers than out on their boats.
They say vital sources of their food, water and livelihoods - from fish and riverweeds to seasonal wetlands for agriculture - are fast disappearing due...
Climate change is wild card in water security — SEI analysts
Posted by AlertNet: Julie Mollins on July 25th, 2012
AlertNet: We can think creatively about water management, but unknown large global threats could cause a fundamental reorganisation of life on Earth, according to a water expert with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
"A doomsday scenario would be that if the Greenland ice sheet melts, and then there's six metres of sea-level rise -- all bets are off,' said David Purkey, a senior scientist who heads SEI's Northern California office. "I think we've got bigger problems than water scarcity at that...
Nasa satellites reveal sudden Greenland ice melt
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on July 25th, 2012
Telegraph: Even Greenland's coldest place showed melting. Records show that last happened in 1889 and occurs about once every 150 years.
Nasa says three satellites saw what it calls unprecedented melting over four days beginning July 8. Most of the thick ice remains. But what was unusual was that the melting occurred over a widespread area.
Nasa says the melting area went from 40 per cent of the ice sheet to 97 per cent. Until now, the most extensive melt seen by satellites in the past 30 years was about...